Theater

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Page 229
Blumberg: Cruel children, cruel parents. (Photo: T. Charles Erickson.)

"When the Rain Stops Falling' in New York

Family saga, global calamity

Andrew Bovell, an Australian playwright, and director David Cromer combine with a luminous cast to provide a searing and extraordinary theatrical experience.
Toby Zinman

Toby Zinman

Articles 3 minute read
Molina (left), Redmayne: Swept away by comic books and soup cans?

John Logan's "Red': Mark Rothko on Broadway

How art happens

Red, based on two years in the life of the Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko, is a daring play about making art. In 90 minutes it shows us what a monster of self-absorption and narcissistic contempt our art-god can be.
Toby Zinman

Toby Zinman

Articles 3 minute read
Turner as Ivins: A dog named 'Shit.' (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

"Red Hot Patriot': Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins (2nd review)

A crusader for our times

The impassioned portrayal of Molly Ivins by Kathleen Turner vividly brings to the stage the columnist's sharp political critiques and belly-laugh mockery of those in power.
Jonathan M. Stein

Jonathan M. Stein

Articles 4 minute read
Mkhize as the shaman: A feast for the eyes, thin gruel for the soul.

"The Lion King' gets the tour treatment

When gasps turn to giggles

In its touring production, The Lion King looks as fresh and gorgeous as ever. But it has undermined its original tone as a human drama.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 2 minute read
Turner as Ivins: A liberal in oil country.

"Red Hot Patriot': Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins (1st review)

Joan of Arc of the Pecos

The late spunky Texas journalist Molly Ivins makes an inspired and inspiring subject for a one-woman stage play. The problem with Red Hot Patriot lies in the two-dimensional nature of journalism, as opposed to drama or literature.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 4 minute read
Greene, Faris: To pray, or not to pray, at a shopping mall. (Photo: Jim Roese.)

"Language Rooms' at the Wilma (3rd review)

The fog of the war on terror

In this brilliant dark comedy, the Egyptian-American playwright Yussef El Guindi addresses American paranoia toward outsiders as perhaps only a talented outsider/immigrant artist could do, enhanced by Blanka Zizka's coherent direction and Wilma's dependable, high-quality production supports.
Jonathan M. Stein

Jonathan M. Stein

Articles 6 minute read
Nicholas (left), Greene: Two flavors of banality.

"Language Rooms' at the Wilma (2nd review)

The questioners and the questioned

Language Rooms takes place in the hermetic world of a private contractor whose job is to interrogate terrorist suspects, but which might be next door. The play invites us to ask Theater of the Absurd questions about ourselves but undercuts its own mise en scène with a drama-within-the-drama about immigrant acculturation that clearly belongs somewhere else. Language Rooms. By Yussef El Guindi; directed by Blanka Zizka (world premiere). Through April 4, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read

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Walton, Vrooman, Moore: Drivel with unabashed shamelessness.

"The Gnädiges Fräulein' by Tennessee Williams

Southern comfort, taken to extremes

In The Gnädiges Fräulein, Tennessee Williams serves up an absurd exaggeration of the kind of Southern myths that Williams himself popularized.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 3 minute read
Beschler, DaPonte: Hobos without gimmicks.

Beckett's "Waiting For Godot,' by EgoPo

New life for Beckett's hobos

Careful, astute direction by Brenna Geffers of EgoPo Productions resurrects the bones of Beckett's existential classic, Waiting For Godot, into a drama that's fresher and more exciting than the raft of “new” plays currently on Philadelphia stages.

Articles 4 minute read
Marvel: No silver lining. (Photo: Joan Marcus.)

"The Book of Grace' in New York

An absence of grace

Suzan-Lori Parks's new play, The Book of Grace, is determined to bludgeon every shred of hope, optimism and cheerfulness out of us until we succumb to her grim view of human beings, event outcomes and life generally.
Toby Zinman

Toby Zinman

Articles 3 minute read